According to Ahmed Ibrahim, the director of SOS Children's Villages in Somalia, the situation in Mogadishu, though tense, has improved since yesterday. There was no fighting around the project last night.

The area is now under the control of Somali troops and Ethiopian troops continue to chase insurgents from the city. However there have been reports of serious looting in the area and SOS Children's Villages is on alert.

One of the problems for SOS Children's Villages is that the security guards are not allowed to carry weapons, as they may be mistaken for fighters and would be shot. SOS staff have contacted the police commissioner in Mogadishu to try to get permission to carry weapons within the project itself. At this time they are still waiting for an answer.

Meanwhile four maintenance staff have returned to start the clean up process at the SOS Hospital, especially in the maternity area and operating theatre. Once that area is returned to order the hospital can begin to function again in a limited capacity. Public transport is still not available, so anyone who returns to the project has to either walk or find another means of transport.

The regional director of SOS Children's Villages for East Africa, Wilhelm Huber, has been in touch with co-workers in the project and said that "We are now starting to think about how we can best help and support our co-workers in Mogadishu and the people of Somalia."

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Further News

27/04/2007 - Troops of the Somali interim government and from Ethiopia searched the SOS Children's Village facilities in Mogadishu yesterday. The search was carried out peacefully; this was the first calm night after days of heavy combat around the village grounds.

During their search for insurgent troops, soldiers of the Somali interim government and Ethiopian troops searched the SOS Children's Village facilities. They entered the grounds after peaceful talks with the village staff. The SOS Clinic was also searched.

After the evacuation of the children, mothers and village staff last weekend, only a few staff members stayed behind in order to watch over the buildings. The part of town in which the village is located has been almost entirely abandoned for days. Approximately 340,000 inhabitants have fled the Somali capital due to the heavy fighting.

According to Ahmed Ibrahim, director of the SOS Children's Villages projects in Somalia, the soldiers have pulled back after the search and have installed a provisional base directly beside the village grounds. Ahmed Ibrahim says that the situation remains precarious and it is still not certain, if and when the allied troops will move on or resume their offensive.

Ahmed Ibrahim says that if the soldiers were to pull out, the SOS medical staff would attempt to get the clinic back in operation. The hospital has not been able to operate normally during the past weeks due to increasing insecurity.

Thirteen missiles have hit SOS grounds during the past six days, and one of these hit a wing of the clinic where wounded victims were being treated. The wounded were taken away by relatives and friends yesterday, as the government troops are advancing and the Islamic troops are pulling back.

Ahmed Ibrahim hopes that the situation will relax considerably during the next few days and the SOS Children's Villages projects will be up and running normally again in the foreseeable future.